Between Dirt and Embers
by LightBlueRoses
Summary: Luna Scarlet has been Dauntless all her life. She jumps from trains, climbs the tallest buildings, she's even taking the fear serum. But when it's revealed that she is a freak of both Amity and Dauntless traits, Luna is stuck between peace and bravery. While trying to figure out what faction she truly belongs in, Luna must also pass initiation.


**Between Dirt and Embers**

_1-The Scarlet Family_

"Ready?" Neo asks, tapping his foot. I not silently. From behind me, Hayley backs up. "Yo, I said, ready?"

"Yeah, sure..." I mumble. From the other cars I can hear my friends(if I can truly call them that)whooping and hollering, shaking the whole train with the pounding feet and screams. It makes me dizzy, so I hold Neo's hand.

Neo looks at me, but says nothing. He's the only one who doesn't mind if I do weak things like this. Hayley, thank god for her ignorance, is too wrapped in jumping off the train to notice.

_Wait._

Despite his softness, Neo still pushes me off the train so I don't miss school. It's not like he has to jump off, he only rides the school train because "it's fun to watch you buffoons." Personally though, I think he wants to cling to any memories of us, since he's afraid that we're going to one day leave, like my oldest sister did.

I tumble down the hill, trying to steady myself so it still looked like I jumped. Normally I enjoy the thrill of the jump, but this is just dizzying. Hayley can't stop laughing at me.

"Damn Luna, you fucked up! Hahaha!" She claps as I stand up, a bruise forming on my head.

"Shut up, Hayley." I hiss.

"Oh please, admit it, Neo had to push you off again. Calm down." Hayley grabs my arm and drags me towards the high school. It's one of the few times the factions intermingle with each other, when not on business terms. Not that it matters much, since only kids from the same faction hang out with each other.

While walking to my first class, an Abnegation girl falls flat on the ground. Maybe, if Hayley wasn't around, then I would have helped her up. But I can't, since that's not was Dauntless do.

"Psst, did ya hear? An Abnegation women was caught stealing money for her factionless son!" A Candor girl whispers to a boy.

"What!? Ugh, those damn stiffs...I swear, Dauntless would make better leaders than them..." The boy shakes his head.

Hayley gets right up in the boy's face, and as intimidating as she can, growls, "Is that supposed to mean somethin', jerk?"

The duo back away. Of course, why wouldn't they? My sister is five-foot-ten, and has worked out since she could walk. She has tattoos up and down her arms&legs, and tongue, nose, and lip piercings.

"W-well, I am merely, uh, commenting..." The girl struggles against her faction rules while trying to make an excuse. Hayley scoffs.

"Me and my sister are gonna beat your ass if you say shit like that again." She points to me.

The boy doesn't hesitate to comment. "_That's _your sister?"

I cross my arms. "You really questioning a Dauntless, boy?"

With just a glare and a lowered voice, the boy and girl bolt. Hayley calls it my death glare, a glare that can scare even the toughest of opponents. Of course, it only works when one of my siblings have threatened someone.

The school bell rings, and Hayley and I run to our class. Just in time too, since our instructor, an old Erudite man named Mr. Smith, has just arrived. He takes one look at us and shakes his head, but says nothing.

"Now, children, before I begin today's lesson, I would like to make one thing very clear." He coughs, "About tomorrow. Tomorrow, as you all know, you shall be taking your aptitude tests. These tests help determine which faction you belong too; Erudite, Amity, Dauntless, Candor, or Abnegation."

"Please remember, however, that you are free to choose. After all, if you weren't, then the Choosing Ceremony would be in your Aptitude Test. But, remember that faction always goes before blood."

From behind me, Hayley chuckles, making snide remarks about the teacher's little speech. I stay silent.

Classes drag on, which only the Erudite truly making an effort to write down what the teacher is saying. Nothing the teachers do or say can get rid of the fact that the Aptitude Tests are tomorrow.

. . .

Josh slaps me awake. I retaliate with a kick to the chest, effectively pushing him off my bed and onto the floor. He bursts out laughing.

"Oy, Neo! Hayley! C'mon, wake up!" He shouts. Josh always shouts, no matter what the occasion. Neo groans and slowly gets off his bed, while Hayley is much quicker and is already running to the bathroom. I chase after her, soon running past her and locking the shower door shut.

After a quick shower, I change into the most relaxed Dauntless clothes I own. That is to say, I change into a black t-shirt with torn red jeans, and put my hair up into a pony tail.

"Might wanna cover your tattoos...could scare the test administrator." Neo whispers to me. I smile, tracing the colorful tattoos that go up and down my arms.

"Did you cover your tattoos?" I whisper back. Neo rolls his eyes.

"They're on my back, Luna. I would hope that I didn't have to cover them up..." He winks. Hayley emerges from the shower, not even bothering to wrap a towel around her. I can hear Johnathan bolt to get the last of the warm water.

"Neo, yo, what time is it?" She asks as she changes into her favorite teal shirt. He points to the clock on the wall. "Oh."

"You guys should probably get going soon." Neo says, grabbing his leather jacket and putting it on. "I'll help you guys to the train station, but I'm not jumpin' on this time. I have guard duty."

Hayley makes an exaggerated frown, and whimpers.

"Come on, go!" Neo pushes Hayley out of our room door, and grabs my arm. He leads me out, hugs me, and slams the door. I can hear him yelling at Josh to hurry up.

Hayley and I run into the pit, where we join up with the others. Most of them tower over me, but thankfully they still take me seriously. At least, I think so.

"Alright, let's go!" A boy shouts, and the doors open. We run out, ignoring the panicked pedestrians who thought we would be going out later and the occasional car that comes our way. Climbing onto the train platform, I start to run before Hayley is even on.

With a grunt, I jump onto the train. Hayley chases my car down and nearly lands on me. We glance at each other, and share a laugh.

Just a few minutes later, it's time to jump off. This time, Hayley jump kicks me off the train, and then rolls down the hill with me.

"Hayley..." I frown and turn away from her. Hayley rolls her eyes.

"Relax Luna, I was just helping you." Hayley runs to the doors, and together, we rush to the cafeteria where we wait while tests go on.

As Hayley enters, I bump into a boy. He stumbles and falls onto the ground, his straw hat falling right off his head.

"Hey, you, ah, okay?" I ask him, grabbing his hand and helping him up. He's clearly an Amity boy-if the hat wasn't a big enough clue, his clothing is all muted colors and he's wearing blue jeans.

"Yes, thank you, I'm alright." The Amity boy takes my hand and shakes it. "You taking your test today?"

"Are you?" I ask him. He nods. "Then, yes, I am."

"That's cool! Must be easy for you, since you're Dauntless and all." He laughs, but is clearly uneasy around me.

I shrug. I hear Hayley yelling for me, and not wanting to be caught talking to an Amity boy of all people, I run into the cafeteria. While Hayley and a boy arm wrestle, I look at the other kids.

At the Erudite table, the kids read and make comments. Most of them(in fact, I think all of them)are wearing large, thick glasses. I wonder if any of them really need glasses; I've heard that Erudites only wear glasses to seem smarter.

Next to them are Candor teens, arguing already. When I was little, I always thought that the two factions were actually just one big faction. After all, both Candor and Erudite people wear suits, many of them wear glasses, and both carry around briefcases.

Abnegation is next to us. I've never liked Abnegation, though not because of the things that the news says about them. It's just that they've always looked so dreary and boring, never having any fun whatsoever. The kids wait quietly, occasionally glancing at one another but never talking.

Then there's Amity. Most of the Dauntless call them weaklings, stupid little hippies that we should avoid at all cost. I've always admired them, if not only because they seem so content. The kids are always laughing and smiling, singing sweet songs, and a life of farming doesn't seem so bad in some respects.

_But you're a Dauntless, and always will be a Dauntless_, I remind myself.

"Scarlet, Hayley." A man calls out, standing outside one of the test taking rooms.

As Hayley stands up to leave, I whisper, "Be brave."

A little less than five minutes later, Hayley comes out, seemingly relaxed but I know she's not. Her hands are clenched, she's sweating, and she keeps on looking around nervously. Whatever happened in there, she doesn't want to talk about.

"Scarlet, Luna."

While I get up, Hayley leans in and whispers, "Be extra brave."

The man, dressed in Abnegation gray, shuffles me into a room with a Candor woman. She smiles and waves.

"Hello, I am Samantha, and I will be your test administrator today." She waves. "Please sit down."

"What does the test do?" I ask. Maybe, since she's Candor, she'll tell me.

Samantha shakes her head, and attaches wires to my forehead. "It's just a simple few tests, but you'll need to drink this for it to work." She hands me a small vile with something in it. It's orderless to me, and I drink it without a word.

"Okay, I drank it, now what-huh?" I look around, but Samantha is gone. In fact, I'm not even in the testing room. Instead, I'm back in the cafeteria, with two plates in front of me. One holds a knife, while the other has cheese.

"Choose." A voice says. I look around, spotting nothing.

"Wh-why?" I ask.

"Choose." The same voice says, more forceful. I don't question the voice, but as I look from the cheese to the knife, I realize I can't choose. How could I, when I don't even know what I need it for? Just in case, I grab the cheese. Before I can grab the knife, it disappears.

A dog growls from behind me. I spin around, gripping to the cheese. It starts to bark, and dashes towards me. Without thinking, I throw the cheese towards the dog.

The dog calms down immediately, biting chunks of cheese off. It licks its lips, and then licks my hand as I try to pet it.

_That wasn't too hard..._I think in relief. But then the dog starts growling again, and it's not at me.

A little girl holds her hand out for the dog, not realizing that it's going to attack her. I race to get in front of her before the dog does. I throw myself in front of the girl, squeezing my eyes shut.

It takes a moment, but I'm not in the cafeteria anymore. I'm on a slow moving bus, with a man reading a newspaper. He glances at me, waving a burnt hand.

"Do you know who this man is?" He asks, pointing to a boy on the cover. "He's responsible for all my problems. And I think you know where he is."

_I don't know that boy..._I think, yet a nagging feeling in me tells me that I do know him.

"I-I'm not sure. Why?" I ask.

Without missing a beat, the man looks up and grins. "I am going to kill this boy. Help me find him."

"No, you can't kill him!" I gasp. Is he really going to do that? Why?

"Why? Think about it logically. This kid burnt me, he ruined me, and now, I am going to kill him." The man draws a switch blade from his pocket.

"I don't care! No one deserves to die for their crimes. I won't let you!" I shout at the man. Just then, the bus stops. The boy on the cover steps on, looks up, and screams. The burnt man charges.

I grab the man by his arms, struggling to grab the knife out of his hands. The bus starts to move.

When I'm finally able to get to the knife, I yank it out of the burnt man's hands. I throw it to the ground and stomp on it, easily breaking the knife with my boots. I throw the man into one of the seats, and use that time to get in front of the boy. Just like when the dog was coming towards me, I close my eyes.

Next thing I know, I'm back in the testing room, with Samantha looking troubled.

"My results...?" I ask nervously. _Why isn't she responding? _"Miss, please, I need my results."

Samantha folds her hands into her lap. "Your test results were Dauntless."

_Thank god, _I sigh in relief, sinking into the chair.

"And Amity."

My head snaps up. "What!? That's impossible! You can't get Dauntless _and _Amity! I'm sorry, but you made a mistake!"

"No, I didn't. Trust me, I'm a Candor." Samantha tries to lighten the mood, but it doesn't help. "You see, usually, the test rules out other factions until one remains. Only, your test ruled out three factions. Erudite, Candor, and, well, Abnegation. I know that sounds strange, but your not Erudite since you didn't question the test more than once&didn't reason with the man, and you didn't answer completely honestly to the man with Candor. Of course, it's hard to tell if you are Abnegation or not, but I don't believe so, since you used violence or...um, sorry, this isn't making any sense. Look...just..."

"Put in Dauntless." I say.

"Of course. That's not a lie, right? Yeah, not a lie at all, since you did get Dauntless..." Samantha is now muttering to herself as she quickly types into the computer. She straightens her white tie, and looks directly at me. "Do not tell anyone about this. Not your parents, or siblings, or friends. No one can know about your test results. Despite my faction, I will not say that you also got Amity. Just please don't tell anyone at all!"

Not letting me reply, Samantha guides me out of the room, back into the cafeteria. Shaking, I sit down.

In silence, Hayley and I wait for the bell to ring.


End file.
